Rebecca followed Jamie, not really knowing where they were heading, and too baffled to ask.
But the place they were going to was the least of her worries, what she really wanted to know was why he'd come at her rescue and why all these girls had obeyed him that easily... was he some sort of pimp? Why did people comply with his orders? Maybe he was more dangerous than the simple womanizer she had assumed he was. No one this handsome is innocent.
She paced the hills and steep streets, pavement and mud without uttering a single syllable.
Jamie did the same, but he could keep up without too much effort. She was carrying a travel bag after all. When he heard how hard she was panting he finally allowed his eyes to meet hers and noticed the heavy bag she'd been carrying on her back and spoke.
"Shit. I'm sorry, give me your bag..." he said, whilst taking that weight off her shoulders, both literally and metaphorically. The fact that he had just spoken made her feel a lot better, and removed all idea of kidnapping from her tormented thoughts.
After he freed her he turned around and started walking again. After walking for 100m he stopped, seeing a bench on his left, dropped her bag on it, turned to her and asked her "aren't you going to ask me where I'm taking you?"
"I was..." she answered "...But then I figured I probably shouldn't talk to you. Sorry for pissing you off, I didn't mean to --" he interrupted her and answered:
"Oh it's not your fault. Really, it's not you... it's just... this place. I'm tired of it. So I'm going where I always feel good. I'm taking you there. I used to go there whenever things weren't too great, and the habit remained..."
"Cool." was all she answered
"'Cool?' So you don't want me to tell you where that is?"
"No, I trust you. I feel I can"
That last confession made him smile
"Cool" he answered. "We're almost there..."
He wasn't lying. After three more minutes they had arrived to a playground. Everything was a bit rusty and the gate was locked. Everything was still wet. Jamie took a key out from his pocket and unlocked it. It was clearly written "Private, no trespassing" but he still stepped in the dark of the night. As he opened this gate he also opened her heart and his. This place was going to be one of many open-hearted talks, but none of them knew this yet.
He let her in first and followed her then closed the gate behind them.
The toys in there weren't those you see in a normal playground. They were in fact sort of fairground, frightening, macabre animals. Snakes, barking dogs, and hissing cats. But Rebecca didn't feel threatened... she actually felt safe. It was like being somewhere beyond the boundaries of reality, a different dimension that no one else could access.
Jamie climbed some sort of ladder and took out his phone to find his way, he unlocked another lock and then went down saying it was clear and asked Rebecca to go up first. He didn't want to look under her skirt, he just wanted to be there to catch her if she was to fall. She left her bag downstairs and went up and he joined her an instant later, put the bag aside and closed the trap door beneath him. He then searched his pockets, took out his lighter, and turned on the gas lamp that was in one of the corners. The light shone bright, revealing the rest of the room; it was wide, the size of a spacious bedroom. It was like entering a pharaoh's pyramid to find gold and rubies. Rebecca gasped. She hadn't imagined what this playground was hiding...
"Wow." was the only word she let out. Jamie had hoped not to have to go down that route but he now knew he'd have to tell her how and why about many things. How come he had this key, why he came here, whose it was...
"It was me and my brother's playroom." he paused. He wasn't sure whether to do that or not, but if he wanted anything the happen between him and her she needed to understand.
"We moved out a year and a half ago... didn't really get along with the people around here anymore. I was going to move schools too but my request was rejected by the council as I only had 9 months left." he sighed. "I have a twin brother. If you met him you'd think it's me, but we have very different ways of thinking... my brother is schizophrenic. When we were younger we always played here for hours on, even when it rained. It's my grandpa's mansion... but he passed away now, so we had to move. We'd been living here with him because he'd have been too lonely." he got up and paced the room, his back turned. "My brother stayed in an institute where he also had some lessons, he's smart. He came here once during half term because it was our 16th birthday. My friends had planned a special party which I was going to attend, but he couldn't because of... his condition. I was getting ready as he came and announced it was cancelled, one of my friends had just called, he said. I was disappointed and went to bed at 11 that night after having played video games. I had put my pyjamas back on and had my covers up to my eyes. I assumed my brother would still stay up late as he couldn't do that in the institute." he paused again. "Well... he didn't. He took my clothes and phone after replacing mine with the same model but a different sim card and changing my best mates' numbers so I couldn't contact them. He then went out, saying bye to my mother, who thought it was me, and went to that party." he gasped. "I've always been sort of quiet, you know. So when my brother, Mark arrived at the party telling my mates to go mental they just assumed I'd drank a lot, and decided to continue, and all got drunk. Everyone was really drunk at that party, I hear." he sniffed and paused, for a long time. There was a tight ball in his throat, one that he just couldn't swallow this time. Tears started flowing and even biting his lower lip didn't help with that. Rebecca heard it all but didn't know whether to move and comfort him or not, but she decided to let him finish first. In the meantime she took out a few things in her bag: a large blanket, some digestive biscuits, and a bottle of vodka.
"Well... he met my ex girlfriend and got off with her. She was saying how she missed him so he assumed she wanted him. She'd been sniffing some white powder, so they ended up together in a random bed. After that he saw a girl I quite liked, as a friend, but who really liked me. She cried and pleaded and wanted to know why I didn't want to be with her. I liked her but I'd just gotten out of something that had left me emotionally weak, so I wanted to take things slow. Of course Mark didn't know that. So he did it with her too. Then I hear he was quite tired... so he went to an empty room to rest. He lay in the bed but noticed it was bumpy. The nice Mark would have never done that, but the other Mark did it... he... abused her." then Jamie started to sob as quietly as he could. "Fucking hell... I'm so sorry... I sound so lame, I'm sorry, I swear I... it's my fault." Rebecca didn't wait for him to finish the story to get up. She knew he wasn't lying, she understood, part of her mystery had just been solved, she could fall in love. She went up to him, made him turn around and held him as tight as she could. He returned her sweet embrace and allowed his watery eyes to be seen for the first time. He could trust her, just like she trusted him, that's how he felt. She didn't need to talk, her presence was appeasing enough. They remained in that position for a few minutes, without uttering a single word. Then she took him by the hand and lead him to the window where she had organised her cherished belongings. She put the blanket on the large mattress in another corner of the room, and grabbed the vodka and biscuits and sat. The rain was pouring outside and she started nibbling on her biscuit. She passed the packet to him, and set her throat on fire with one gulp of the transparent liquid. She coughed as she hadn't done this in a while now and she had to breathe in really hard, but she was fine. He had the same reaction, but then he smiled. The 75cl bottle was nowhere near empty, and the moon had just appeared. They still had hours to uncover each other's mysteries; years. They didn't need all this: the alcohol, the warmth,... they had eachother.
